NCJ Number
126818
Journal
Insight on the News Volume: 6 Issue: 35 Dated: (August 27, 1990) Pages: 18-21
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The Hickey School near Baltimore, a training school practically devoid of programs, represents the end of the line for Maryland juvenile delinquents.
Abstract
Hickey students have either proven to be an escape risk from less restrictive facilities or abused the relative freedom of probation and home detention. The school houses about 350 students, and its campus is divided into open and closed sections. The closed part is surrounded by a high double fence topped with electrified razor wire. The open part has trees and lawns, cottages, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and a swimming pool. School policy calls for 3 hours of recreation a day, but many students say they get about an hour or less a day and none on weekends. Outdoor recreation on weekends is not part of the school program. At an annual cost of $60,000 per student, the Hickey School offers little more than warehousing. The school's drug unit, however, stands out as one of its more structured programs. Youth who have been committed to the school for drug offenses are rotated through 45-day and 60-day programs based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The school also has a modest television studio that airs programming via closed circuit once a week, a culinary arts program, and a program known as World at Work that aims to provide students with socialization skills needed to keep a job. The most significant academic accomplishment is a general equivalency diploma program. All study is independent, with teachers and volunteers assisting students who work alone using workbooks or computers. The school's effectiveness is questioned because it lacks organized programs and trained staff and because it mixes youth who are depressed, sexually abused, and borderline psychiatric.